The Business Journals (5/27, Hoover) reports from Washington that despite the difficult path through the House that TPA legislation faces, the deal that saw the measure clear the Senate last Friday “also improved the Export-Import Bank’s chances of survival.” The story explains that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “promised a handful of Senate Democrats that he would allow a vote in June on reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank” in exchange for “these Ex-Im Bank supporters [voting] in favor of a procedural motion that led to TPA’s passage” in the upper chamber. A previous strategy whereby Congress would allow the Bank’s charter to lapse upon its June 30 expiration “appears to be in jeopardy now,” thanks to the pledge from McConnell — a frequent Ex-Im critic — and House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) “promise” to bring reauthorization up for a vote in the House if it passed the Senate.

Ex-Im Chief Hochberg On The Road, Selling Bank’s Virtues. The Hill (5/27, Cirilli) reports that the Export-Import Bank’s president, Fred Hochberg, is skipping vacation during Congress’ brief recess around Memorial Day and instead taking to the road to meet with lawmakers and small-business leaders in four states about “the embattled institution’s work.” On Tuesday, Hochberg was in Kansas City, Kansas and then Kansas City, Missouri, where he met with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and business leaders, The Hill says. On Wednesday, the Ex-Im chief will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania for a visit with a General Electric supplier, followed on Thursday by a stop in Jamestown, New York for a manufacturing summit with Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY)